Will and Sentiment
by Member of the Creed
Summary: The Lingering Will's existance in the Keyblade Graveyard, starting at the very beginning as He recalls of those he held dear.
1. Melancholy

This starts with the ending of Terra's story when he defeats Terra-Xehanort.

I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

Enjoy.

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><p>Darkness. Nothing but cold, quiet darkness. As he kneeled down in bittersweet victory, looking at his possessed body, he could already feel darkness. But then, the ground shook as an explosion of light brought several moments of the last warmth he would feel. His best friends; his family, flashed before his eyes. He glanced up as his body was swallowed by the light, and then the whole thing vanished. What was meant to be a mission for repossession turned into what would likely be an eternity of darkness, the last of his free will forced to use cold, emotionless armor as a shell to survive.<p>

Emotions, if he could show any, flowed through him. Anger, sadness, joy. He didn't know what to feel. But the darkness. The darkness that once shook him to his core was gone, at least from inside him. But now, the same cold black swallowed him up. The blue heart moon in the sky vanished behind clouds, the last ray of light fading. Then he felt it. Melancholy. He was joyful in at least trying to avenge his late Master Eraqus, but it couldn't hide his torment.

Melancholy.

Oh, if armor could weep.


	2. Scars

Not much to say. I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Also, "he" is the Lingering Will. He's not exactly Terra, so using "he" is kind of symbolic as he is not Terra.

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><p><em>Scars<em>

From his earthen pedestal, he looked down on the crossroads of keyblades. All shapes and sizes, rusted and eroded from the harsh weather. A figurative tomb for the masters who had once fought on that very soil. From high up, he could see the many scars of war. What might've been an explosion of some kind had blasted through a mountain and crashed into the ground, creating an immense valley.

Overtime, he had started to notice even his own armor had begun to erode. The layers of dirt and grime darkened his armor. The keychain of Ends of The Earth had been broken off and destroyed. There were chips and cracks here and there, dirt smudges and rust stains. When he laughed, a metallic wind came out instead. His shell allowed him to live almost immortal, yet he had become this vast graveyard. Decayed and ruined, scarred by the mistakes of war and vengeance. His scars, the reminder of his failures.

His scars, the reminder of his friends.


	3. Remnant

Sort of a more cannon version of the Vanitas Remnant. Whenever "He" is with a capital H in the middle of a sentence, it's the Lingering Will. Definitely longer than the other chapters. Enjoy, Read, and Review.

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><p><em>Remnant<em>

It was the day that _he _appeared. He too was just an empty soul, but more powerful than before. Vanitas, the embodiment of dark emotions, had returned. He looked the same as ever, but monochrome, a lifeless shell. The insignia of the unversed emblazoned his mask. Even his own keyblade, Void Gear, had become drained of color.

"Ah, Terra. I looks like both of us are now one and the same. Empty, with no purpose to live." He surprisingly spoke, even though his voice did carry a light echo.

_Shut up! I'm nothing like you!_ He said, even though it came out like a metallic wind. But The Remnant seemed to have understood.

"Oh, but you are. Xehanort won, I guess? But the old man left me behind, even though it was only because that little bastard Ventus got the slip-up on me."

_Guess again. I know that Ventus defeated you, I saw the explosion. Xehanort might've taken my body, but he's been defeated. _

"Hm. He might've failed destroying your mind, but I'll just have to take care of you myself!" The Remnant got into his fighting stance, a dark aura surrounding him.

_Bring it. _He stood up from his kneel. He pulled Ends of the Earth from the dirt, and also got into his stance. The two broken spirits stood still, waiting for the other to make a move. Vanitas suddenly sent out dark trails of shadows. Out of these shadows grew clones, who lunged forward for an attack. He blocked their swings, and counterattacked with a shockwave that obliterated the clones. Vanitas ran forward with a mighty swing. He did the same, and the two warriors were locked in a struggle. Sparks flew off the colliding blades, neither man giving an inch. Just then Vanitas' guard slipped, and He went for the kill. But his keyblade went through the Remnant, who seemed to be frozen.

"There's no escape!" He spun around to see Vanitas come out of a dark portal above him he was too late to counterattack, and was knocked away. Vanitas then teleported in front of Him, and attacked with a furious combo.

He took the damage of it, then dashed out of the way as a dark fireball exploded where He would've been. He then slid back around Vanitas to deliver a quick combo before strafing away.

Vanitas then started to dash quickly around Him, the many afterimages surrounding Him. At the last second he blocked the sudden attack by The Remnant, and used the opportunity to summon Demolition. The meteors came crashing down, causing the ground to rumble from the immense impact. Vanitas was caught in the blasts, knocked around by the shockwaves. He went for a combo, but Vanitas slipped behind his attack and delivered a flurry of thunder attacks. He rolled out of the attack back onto His feet just as Vanitas spun his keyblade at Him. He guarded against the attack as the two weapons grinded against each other. Their keyblades immediately deflected each other, knocking away both fighters. Vanitas was the first to recover, and burst forward to attack. He also regained his senses, and saw Vanitas advancing quickly. In a brilliant display of speed and strength, He thrust His keyblade forward and warped. Vanitas chuckled, and turned about-face.

"Tch. Nice try, but you'll want to do better than that-" Vanitas was cut off as he felt an excruciating pain go through him. He noticed a rocky protrusion in front of him showed a diagonal cut through it. His vision became slanted, and saw bits and pieces of himself floating away and then disappearing.

"Hm. You lucky bastard. You've cut right through me." Vanitas said. He remained quiet.

"But remember this, Terra. You and I, we're one and the same. Empty shells of our real selves. Lingering Wills with no purpose for existence. What's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine. Like me, you'll eventually fade away, and the memory of you that your friends keep will too." Vanitas said, and with the last of him disappearing , his laugh echoed in the gray nothingness of the world.


	4. Birthday

I was in D.C. and New York for a whole week, and man, did I get an itch for updating. I don't own Kingom Hearts. Read and Review, please.

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><p><em>Birthday<em>

Today would've been His nineteenth birthday. If it had been a regular birthday at His home, it would've been filled with anticipation, excitement, and laughter. Aqua once gave Him a book of magic spells; which He used for several months before accidently destroying it with a haywire thunder spell. Ventus wasn't good with presents; a gemstone he found exploring a cave and a crudely drawn home-made card on one occasion.

But the best gift of all was a present from Master Eraqus. A wooden practice keyblade with His name carved on it, when He was twelve years old. He loved that wooden keyblade. It cemented the bond between Him and Eraqus. He used it day after day, the shaft of it would be covered with dents and cracks, which Master Eraqus told Him meant he was learning well.

He remembered one day after training with Ven, who still had a weak heart at the time, and the boy had looked more sad than ever. Aqua tried comforting him, telling him the same thing Master Eraqus would always tell them. In an act of generosity, He decided to let Ven have His wooden keyblade. He would be receiving His real keyblade soon anyways. Ven was thankful; he wasn't able to show it, but he found it as the greatest thing ever. The passing of the wooden keyblade had now cemented His and Ven's friendship.

_"Happy birthday, to me. . ."_


End file.
